Input devices including proximity sensor devices (also commonly called touchpads or touch sensor devices) and pointing sticks are widely used in a variety of electronic systems.
A proximity sensor device typically includes a sensing region, often demarked by a surface, in which the proximity sensor device determines the presence, location and/or motion of one or more input objects. Proximity sensor devices may be used to provide interfaces for the electronic system. For example, proximity sensor devices are often used as input devices for larger computing systems (such as opaque touchpads integrated in, or peripheral to, notebook or desktop computers). Proximity sensor devices are also often used in smaller computing systems (such as touch screens integrated in cellular phones and tablet computers). Such touch screen input devices are typically superimposed upon or otherwise collocated with a display of the electronic device.
A pointing stick is typically implemented as a bridge circuit arrangement of resistors or one or more half bridge circuit arrangements of resistors which change in value in response to forces applied to the pointing stick. Pointing sticks are also integrated in many small computing systems, some of which also include a proximity sensor device.